Xenophanes · Confucius Were Xenophanes and Confucius alive at the same time? Yes. Xenophanes and Confucius were alive at the same time, from c. 551 BC to c. 479 BC. XenophanesGreek Pre-Socratic philosopherBorn 570 BC · died c. 478 BCConfucius5th-century BCE Chinese philosopher and politicianBorn c. 551 BC · died c. 479 BC AesopAnaximanderCyrus the GreatXenophanesConfuciusAeschylusSophoclesPericlesHerodotus Xenophanes and Confucius in bold, with some of their best-known contemporaries. Drag across to see the age each reached in any year. Faded ends mark uncertain dates.